Welcome Home
by derangedperson
Summary: After wrecking his automail in a fight with the homunculi, Edward and Alphonse return home to get it fixed.  But an unpleasant surprise awaits...
1. Intruder

_This is where I live. This is me. I will not allow violence against this house.  
-Dustin Hoffman, "Straw Dogs"

* * *

_Edward Elric buried his face in his remaining arm and sighed heavily. The train ride back to Resembool was long enough to begin with, but this time it felt like the journey would never end. The jagged stump where his automail arm had been glistened in the sun as his body rocked back and forth in cadence with the click-clack of the train's wheels. His brother Alphonse sat across from him, his armor scraped and dented from their fight with the homunculi. Neither one had said a word since they first boarded the train two hours ago, and it didn't seem like the silence would break anytime soon. Both of them knew that the homunculi were forces to be reckoned with, but after the brothers squeaked out their latest victory, Envy delivered a spiteful cheap shot that resulted in the shattering of Edward's automail. "A little parting gift," the homunculus had called it.

He shook his head and mumbled, "Winry...Winry's gonna kill me."

"No she won't," Al responded, breaking whatever silence was left. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"You didn't hear her voice, Al," Ed replied. "You wouldn't believe how angry she was."

"Angry? Why would she be angry with you, brother?"

Ed motioned his right shoulder towards Al as far as he could. "Because this is the third time in as many months that I've broken this damn thing. I'm just afraid that this is the straw that's gonna break the camel's back."

"But you didn't break it-Envy did."

"I tried to tell her that, but she was too busy yelling for me to say anything."

"Don't worry, brother," Al said, putting his hand on Ed's good shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine."

"I hope you're right, Al," Ed answered as he stared out the window. "I really hope you're right."

* * *

With Pinako out of town for the day taking Den to the vet, Winry had spent her time preparing for the Elrics' arrival by gathering the necessary tools she'd need to fix Ed's arm...again. She wondered if she'd been a bit _too_ hard on him upon hearing news of his latest malfunction, but it was indeed frustrating to see him come through her door with his arm or leg broken into a million pieces. However, she still enjoyed his company, no matter how brief it may be. She had resigned herself to the fact that this would be one of those shorter visits, most likely a fix and a "see you later" from the duo. Still, the news that Ed was coming home had her in a cheerful mood, so she made her way through the house tidying everything up when she heard a knock at the door.

"Oh? Who's that?" she asked.

"It's Ed!" the voice at the door answered.

Winry dropped the broom and said, "I'm coming!" She made her way towards the door, and when she opened it, there stood Edward in his red jacket, its right arm dangling at his side. She shook her head at him and asked, "So, how bad is it this time?"

"Pretty bad. One of those damned homunculi broke it after they lost, so...here I am."

While she was excited to see him, Winry couldn't help but notice something was missing. "Where's Alphonse?"

"Oh, Al's just up the road a ways. I was just...so excited to see you that I basically ran down here."

Winry was confused. Hadn't Ed just been speechless and terrified after their phone call? In fact, she clearly remembered him choking out the phrase "It was an accident" over and over again. However, she put it out of her mind and led him into her workshop.

"Okay, Ed," she said as she sat down. "Let's see what the damage is."

Ed removed his coat and bared his shame for her-his right arm was a jagged, broken stump of metal and gearwork. It was even worse than she'd imagined.

"My God, Edward!" she shrieked. "What, did a train run over this?"

"No, but it sure felt like one did."

Winry put her hand to her face and sighed. "Okay, let's get to work." As she began to work on Ed's arm, she heard loud, clomping footsteps enter the house and said, "Oh, Alphonse, there you a..."

But as she raised her head to greet him, her voice trailed off in horror. The foosteps hadn't belonged to the suit of armor containing Al's soul. Instead, they belonged to the hulking monster known as Gluttony. His dead eyes fixated on Winry as a formless blob sprang up next to him, taking the form of Lust.

"Well, here we are, Gluttony," Lust said. "Right where the card said."

Winry jumped off of her stool and threw her wrench at Gluttony, screaming, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Even at full velocity, the wrench bounced harmlessly off of Gluttony's massive arm.

"Ouch!" he said. "That's not very nice! Can I eat her, Lust?"

"Not now...but you'll be able to soon enough."

Winry had retreated to her work station to grab another wrench when out of nowhere, Ed got up and grabbed her from behind, hooking his arm under hers. Instead of just his one good arm, for some reason, she felt two of them pinning hers back, and she turned her head right to see that not only did Ed have his other arm, but it was rippling and forming back into the shapeshifting psychopath known as Envy.

"Oh dear God! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ED AND AL, YOU BASTARDS?"

"We haven't done a thing, mechanic," Envy hissed. "They're on their way as we speak."

"Their train should be arriving at the station any minute now," Lust said.

"And when metal boys come to get fixed," Gluttony said as he broke into his wide, frightening grin, "then it's snacktime!"

Winry's eyes widened in terror as she struggled against Envy's grip. Lust approached her and put her finger under Winry's chin, raising her head so that their eyes met. "And what better person to end their lives...than their closest friend?" Winry whipped her head around to see Envy form into a picture-perfect double of herself, and she screamed in horror.

She was in a nightmare.


	2. Ready

After two more hours of travel, the train had reached the station nearest to Resembool. As they exited the train and made their way down the dirt road to Winry's house, Al noticed Ed's steps growing more and more hesitant the further they got.

"Brother, you're slowing down."

"I am?" Ed asked, a pained expression on his face. "I hadn't noticed."

"You've been shuffling your feet since we got off the train."

Ed stopped and shook his head. "You want to know what happened, Al?"

"O...okay."

"I told Winry that my automail got broken, and she just flipped out. I mean, she was cursing a blue streak at her luck and the fact that I broke another one of her automails-to top it off, she even called me a clumsy oaf. I tried telling her that it was an accident, that that bastard Envy broke it off after our fight, but she just kept yelling and yelling."

"Maybe you should have told her right away that it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but you know Winry when it comes to her automail. So there I am trying to get a word in and she says, 'Come on back, but this is the last time I'm fixing you for a while. If you break this one, TOUGH!' And then she hangs up."

Al leaned back, startled. "Wow...no wonder you're so hesitant."

"After we get fixed, Al, I'm tempted to call the colonel and request a month off. Of course, we'll never get it, but it's worth trying."

"There's always a slight chance, though."

"The key word being _slight._" Ed chuckled at his joke and resumed walking towards the Rockbell house, with Ed following close by.

* * *

"Are you ready, Envy?"

"I was made ready," Envy answered. The homunculus, now the spitting double of Winry Rockbell, sat on her work stool, reading a how-to manual on how to properly repair automail. If nothing else, he needed to prepare to make sure everything was authentic before springing their attack. Without that book, he'd have probably stuck a wrench up Elric's nose.

He put the book down and walked downstairs, an icy grin spreading across the fake Winry's face as he caught a glimpse of the real Winry tied to a chair sitting between Lust and Gluttony. Her mouth was taped shut and her upper torso, legs and ankles were tightly bound with rope. Envy leaned into her face and said, "I don't know, but I think I pull this off a lot better than you do."

Winry screamed muffled threats through her gag as Envy shook his head. "You really shouldn't do that, mechanic. Any false moves from you when the Elrics arrive..."

Gluttony leaned in and licked his chops. "...and I get an early dinner!"

The real Winry trembled with fear as she looked away from the behemoth, only to have her head brought up to meet Lust's. "So you keep quiet, or else." She turned to Envy and said, "You look exactly like her, but can you _talk_ exactly like her?"

The shapeshifter opened his mouth and answered, "Of course I can," using a pitch-perfect imitation of Winry's voice. Now there was no way that the Elrics would know that anything was wrong.

"Well, I guess it's time to play the waiting game," Lust said.

"Okay then," the fake Winry said. She turned to their captive and sneered, "See you later."

The real Winry hung her head as Envy walked upstairs. To the homunculi, it appeared as if she had given up all hope, but in reality, she began trying to figure out a way to escape. After a few seconds of silence, Gluttony asked, "Can I eat her now?"

"Not now, Gluttony. Maybe later."

A few more seconds passed.

"...How about now?"


	3. Nightmare

Winry's house drew closer as Ed and Al continued their journey home.

"As soon as we're done here, Al, it's back to work. We'll get back what we lost in no time."

"I know we will, brother."

A light wind blew at their backs as they arrived at the Rockbell house. Normally Den was running around outside, but today he was nowhere to be found. Al took note of this and asked, "Where's Den?"

"Winry said that Pinako had to take him into town to see the vet," Ed replied. "One less thing to worry about, I guess." He raised his hand and knocked on the door, waiting for Winry's reply. Instead, there was silence.

"That's odd," Ed said to himself. He knocked on the door again. Still no answer.

"Winry, are you home?" Al shouted.

After he asked his question, the brothers heard, "Yeah, I'm home! Come on in!"

Ed opened the door and the duo walked into Winry's house and saw her sitting at her workstation reading a book on how to repair automail. Al said, "Hi, Winry! It's nice to see you again!"

"Oh hi, Al!" Winry answered. "Welcome home! It's good to see the two of you again!" She jumped into Al's arms and gave him a hug, and did the same for Ed. "I'm glad to see you too, Ed! Even though you screwed up your automail _again_."

Ed rolled his eyes and grumbled, "For the last time, it was an accident." The next thing he knew he was seeing stars, as Winry smacked a wrench upside his head. "Accident or no, you still wrecked your arm! Now you sit down so we can get this fixed up."

As Winry sat back down, Al said, "See, brother? I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say, Al. You're not nursing a head wound." He rubbed the top of his head and wondered aloud, "Is it just me, or has Winry been working out lately? That was a lot stronger than usual."

"It's probably nothing. Come on-let's get fixed."

"Okay, Al." Ed sat down across from Winry and said, "Okay, let's get this over with." However, she didn't answer. For whatever reason, she continued to read through the how-to book as if she was a rookie automail mechanic just starting out for the first time. Ed took notice of this and got her attention by banging his fist on the table. "WINRY! What's with the book?"

She put the book down and sharply replied, "If you don't mind, sometimes I like to brush up on my automail do's and dont's. I've gotta stay sharp, you know!"

* * *

Upon hearing Ed bang his fist on the table upstairs, the real Winry's heart started pounding. She wanted to scream as loud as she could, but with Lust and Gluttony guarding her, she knew there was no way she could escape at the moment. Instead, she let out a muffled grunt in an effort to let them know she was downstairs. Lust took notice and put her finger to her taped lips, warning, "Shhh...be quiet, or you're gonna be a snack."

"So that means I can eat her?"

"Not now, Gluttony."

"Awww..."

* * *

"What was that?" Ed asked.

"What?"

"I thought I heard something downstairs."

"Oh, it's probably just a mouse or something. Don't worry about it." Winry removed the broken stump from his shoulder jack and began to work on it as Ed got up to talk with Al.

"Is it just me, Al, or is Winry taking this awfully well?"

"Brother, you're worried about nothing. Just relax."

"I can't. There's something off about all of this. I just don't know what."

"Edward, you're overreacting."

"No I'm not, Al! I'm telling you, Winry was livid with me when I talked to her! Now it seems like nothing happened! There's got to be an..." Just then, Ed noticed a flash of red laying behind the closet door.

"...explanation..."

As he approached the door, he opened it to find his red overcoat laying on the floor. His eyes widened in recognition as he picked it up and approached Winry.

"Hey, look what I found." He tossed his jacket onto the table, covering his automail stump in the process.

"EDWARD! That was really rude of you!"

"Where did you get this?" Ed asked, pointing to the jacket.

"Oh, that? You gave it to me."

"No, I didn't. That's the only jacket of that kind that I have. There's no way it could have gotten here."

Winry got up from her seat and said, "Why not?"

"Because I took it off back in..." Al's eyes widened in shock, and all the color drained from Ed's face as he realized what was going on.

"Don't leave me hanging, Edward," Winry flatly insisted before breaking into a smile. "Finish your sentence."

Ed shuddered and continued. "I...I took it off back in...in Central..."

"Yes?" Her smile grew wider.

"...when...when we fought the..."

_"Yes?"_ Her smile grew wider still.

Time seemed to stop as the realization hit Ed and Al square between the eyes. Ed's final word came out in a harsh, choked whisper as he finished his sentence:

_"...homunculi."_

"BINGO!" Winry's hand formed into a spike and impaled Ed in his right shoulder, driving him to the floor. Muffled screaming was heard from downstairs as Al ran towards the basement steps to help, only to back off when Lust and Gluttony came through the door, the latter carrying Winry in front of him, her head in his mouth. Ed screamed in pain as the spike ground through his shoulder, and his eyes darted around the room before settling on the sight in front of him: Winry, a sadistic grin on her face, changing into the green-haired visage of Envy. Ed broke into a cold sweat as he realized what was going on, and his heart sank as he saw Winry-the _real_ Winry-held hostage by the behemoth Gluttony. Envy's free hand grabbed Ed's face and moved his head back so they were eye to eye, and spit out a sadistic greeting:

"_WELCOME HOME!"_


	4. Fighting Back

Ed grunted in pain as he assessed the gravity of the situation. The homunculi had somehow found out where Winry lived. He had no right arm. Gluttony had all but closed his mouth around Winry's head. Al was being held in place by Lust's finger spikes. And to top it all off, Envy hovered over him and had a spike embedded in his shoulder.

Great.

He gritted his teeth in anger and spat, "What the hell are you three doing here? How the hell did you find out where she lived?"

"How indeed, Fullmetal," Envy sneered. "See, after our fight, I gave you that little parting gift for a reason."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"When you took your coat off, a piece of paper fell out of one of its pockets," Lust said. She reached into her dress and pulled out what looked to be a business card. "Does this look familiar?"

She handed it to Envy, who then handed it to Ed. As he took it from the homunculus, Ed could feel his stomach turn-the piece of paper was a photograph of him, Alphonse and Winry from when they were younger, taken shortly before the brothers' ill-fated attempt to resurrect their mother.

"Brother...that photo..." Al began.

Envy grinned and said, "Turn it over, boy."

Ed gulped and flipped the photograph over, realizing his worst fear. He had saved this photo before he and Al burned down their childhood home. A reminder of happier times. As he looked at the back, his face contorted into a mask of pain and grief. Envy just stared at him, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"After we found that," Lust said, "all we had to do was find out where this place was on a map. In the end, it was all too easy." Gluttony chuckled as he relaxed his jaw further, causing Winry to let out a yelp of fear.

"Brother..." Al whimpered, "...you didn't. Please tell me you didn't."

The only way Ed could answer was a scream of frustration as he threw the photo to the floor and buried his face in his hand, his chest heaving up and down as he wept. The photo landed with its backside facing up, and Al and Winry both managed to get a closer look at what had caused Ed's meltdown, their hearts sinking upon seeing the truth.

On the back of the photo, Ed had written Winry's address.

Envy laughed and said, "So after I broke your arm, we looked up some maps in the Central archives, made our way here and waited for you." He shifted his weight and lowered his face towards Ed's until their noses nearly touched. "You asked, what the hell are we doing here? Well, we just followed directions. And how ironic that the people you've fought so hard to protect are about to die in front of you. And how bad it must feel knowing that we're here. And how it must tear you apart knowing that it's all..." He tapped Ed's face with his finger.

"...your..." Again.

"...fault." Envy burst out in maniacal laughter as he tapped Ed's face a third time. Al and Winry could only watch as Ed began to flail wildly with his left arm, screaming, "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" His pathetic desperation was impossible to watch, and both turned their heads away and cringed.

"Now, Gluttony..." Lust said as she stroked his bald head, "...you can eat her."

Ed screamed in rage as he struggled against the spike that kept him pinned down, pushing up on Envy's body only for the homunculus to counter by pressing his weight down harder, driving the spike further into Ed's shoulder. Al tried to fight against Lust's finger spikes, but she made them curve outside his armor and reenter it below their exit points, effectively stapling his body. Winry's muffled screams were a steady chorus of horror as Gluttony closed his jaw around her. As Ed struggled against his captor, he heard a dull thud as his state alchemist watch fell out of his pants pocket. He grabbed it in his left hand and hurled it across his body at Gluttony as hard as he could. The throw was a soft one, but it was right on target, hitting the behemoth in his left eye. Gluttony screamed in pain and dropped Winry to the floor, his hands moving to cover his eye. His screams diverted Lust's attention as Al grabbed her spikes and tore them out, taking chunks of his back with them.

The ruckus also caused Envy to divert his attention, looking back at the plan gone wrong when he felt a pressure on his chest. When he got up to look, he had given Ed enough room to get his legs into a crouched position and plant them in his chest. With an angry roar, he kicked up as hard as he could, launching Envy into the air and taking his spike out of his shoulder in the process. Al used a jagged piece of his armor to cut the ropes that bound Winry, telling her, "Get on the phone and call the colonel! Get someone out here now! We'll take care of these three!"

Once her arms were free, she pulled the tape off of her mouth and said, "Alphonse, there is no way that I'm letting you two fight in this condition." Al could only stare at her upon hearing her ultimatum, but was relieved to hear her next statement:

"Not without me."


	5. Get Thy Bearings

Envy landed on the floor with a dull _whump!_ as Ed got to his feet. Gluttony was whimpering and covering his eye as Lust tried to console him; Ed kept his eyes locked on the homunculi as he joined Al and Winry on the other side of the room. As they regrouped, Ed and Winry hugged each other, both of them looking for a small piece of sanity in the chaos that had erupted.

"Winry, are you okay?" Ed yelled.

After getting a better look at her, however, he instantly regretted asking that question. Her hair had been slicked back by Gluttony's drool and she had teeth marks across her upper body, none of which were deep enough to draw blood but had had enough pressure exerted to leave welts. Winry's response to Ed's concern was: "DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY, EDWARD?"

Ed cringed and turned to Al, saying, "Oh yeah, she's totally fine."

Just then, Ed heard a cadence of footsteps on the wooden floor and turned to see Envy charging him, screaming and forming his arm into a sword. With no time to react, Ed raised his arm and prepared for the worst, only to hear a loud clang as Al deflected Envy's attack. His armor rattling against the force of Envy's strike, Al yelled, "Brother, get out of here! I'll hold them off!"

Ed took Winry's hand and started for the steps to the basement when he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his side. He screamed and grabbed at his gut, feeling the warm stickiness of his blood. Lust stood directly behind him, her spiked finger buried in his back.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked as if scolding a misbehaving child. "Our fun's just getting started."

Ed groaned and looked for Winry, but she was nowhere to be found. _Thank God,_ he thought to himself. _She got out of here while she could._ He grabbed the spike and tried to pull it out, but the homunculus twisted her hand, sending him to the floor screaming in pain. "You shouldn't try to fight, Fullmetal. Accept your fate."

All he could do was glare at her as a satisfied smile crept across her face. _If I'm gonna die, please make it quick._ Suddenly Ed heard another scream and looked up to see Winry clobber Lust in the side of the head with a wrench. The force of the blow caused the spike to retract and exit his body, and as he turned around and caught a glimpse of Winry's face, he was shocked at what he saw. Her face was contorted in rage, her eyes blazing and fixed on the homunculus as she brought the wrench down on her head again and again. He had seen Winry mad before, many times, but this...this was just unreal.

After satisfying her bloodlust, Winry threw the wrench to the ground and screamed, "STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU _BITCH!"_ She turned her attention to Al and saw that he was fending off more attacks from Envy, managing to block almost everything the shapeshifter threw at him. All of a sudden a massive weight knocked her to the floor and knelt on top of her. There was no mistaking who was attacking her. As he stared down at her, Gluttony smiled his terrible smile and licked his lips in anticipation.

"First I was going to eat," he said. "Now I get to FEAST!"

He opened his mouth as wide as he could and moved in for the kill. He got three-quarters of the way to dinnertime when his mouth was filled...with Envy. Through their combat Envy and Al had traded blows back and forth, neither of them giving in. All they needed to gain the upper hand was an opening, and when Winry bludgeoned Lust the first time, Envy's attention had shifted to her for a split second. Al saw his opening and delivered two quick haymakers, knocking the homunculus senseless. Upon seeing Winry in danger, he picked up his enemy's body and heaved it into Gluttony's mouth, sending the behemoth over on his back. Al picked Winry up off the ground and grabbed Ed, dazed and shocked through all of this, by the scruff of his neck and carried them both downstairs, barricading the door with a chair.

"I don't know how long that will hold, but it's fine for now," Al said.

Ed clutched his side and looked for bandages or, if nothing else, an old bedsheet or something he could tear up to create a makeshift set to stop the bleeding. He managed to find a case of medical gauze and tape on a shelf and used it to wrap his chest. Upon seeing the wound, Winry said, "My God, Ed, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Winry. I'm just glad you're okay. Where the hell did you learn to fight dirty like that?"

"I had to do something. You were in trouble."

Ed ran his fingers through his hair and looked up. "We've gotta get those three out of here. We've done enough damage as it is."

"How are we going to do that, brother?" Al asked.

"Force them out or something, I don't know. I didn't think they'd be this hell-bent on killing us."

Winry slammed her fists on a nearby table and screamed, "OF COURSE they'd be hell-bent on killing us! It's obvious they're trying to send a message to the military by doing it here!"

"And that's why you've gotta get out of here, Winry," Ed said.

"WHAT?"

"You nearly got killed twice up there. There's no way that you can-"

Winry grabbed his shirt and yanked him towards her, gritting her teeth. "Now you listen to _me,_ Edward Elric. I have had three psychos show up at my door and take me hostage because of a photograph. I have had my upper body in the mouth of a monster. I'VE NEARLY BEEN EATEN! _TWICE!_ There is NO WAY IN HELL that I'm sitting this one out, and if you think I'm gonna listen to you now when you say 'get out of here,' THINK AGAIN! There's three of us, and three of them! If you two go out there in the condition you're in, you'll get slaughtered."

"That's a chance we'll have to take."

"No...you...won't. You can say anything you like, but I'm not leaving."

Al put his hand on Ed's shoulder and said, "Brother, Winry's right. Look at us. If we take them on in this condition, we'll get killed. We need to take them one on one." A loud crash suddenly got the trio's attention as the door to the basement flexed inward, a series of spikes jutting through its body.

Her mind made up, Winry pulled Ed closer and hissed, "Ed, if you don't let me be a part of this, I'll kill you myself."

A loud crash echoed through the basement as the door flexed inward again, cracking in a few places and letting daylight into the room.

"Brother, hiding down here won't do us any good. We need to fight them off."

Another loud crash.

Ed glared at the door, then down at his left arm. Then he moved his attention to Al and Winry. "You're sure you wanna do this?"

Winry crossed her arms in front of her. "Absolutely."

Another loud crash. The door was all but destroyed now, just barely hanging on by its hinges. As Ed tried to figure out what to do, he saw the huge hole in Al's armor and got a flash of inspiration.

"Al, do you think one of us could fit in there?"

"Probably."

"Good. Because I just got an idea."


	6. The Element Of Surprise

If there was one thing the homunculi hadn't expected, it was for the Elrics to put up a fight in their friend's home. Before they put their plan into effect, Envy had all but guaranteed that the brothers' spirits would be broken at the sight of Winry halfway down Gluttony's throat. And at the time, they were; their reactions to the photograph had all but cemented that until the watch fell out of Ed's pocket. If things had gone according to plan they would have been on their way to Central right now, the brothers and their friend dead at their hands. But now here they were, throwing punches and spikes at the door leading to the basement.

Envy was the angriest out of the three, piercing the door with an aggression and rage that bordered on frustration. Gluttony threw a couple of punches at the frame in between the shapeshifter's blows, and Lust followed suit with surgical precision. Gluttony's head was dotted with bumps and bruises, the result of Envy coming to while embedded in his jaw. Once he'd landed, the behemoth's basic instincts took over and he began to swallow, not knowing that he wasn't gobbling Winry but rather his partner in crime. Needless to say, Envy awoke as his legs began to slide down Gluttony's throat and started hammering him on his head, screaming and doing everything in his power to get him to stop. Gluttony was in the throes of pleasure, however, and Envy's efforts were in vain until he brought his fists together and drove them into the behemoth's left eye. As Gluttony screamed in pain, Envy wriggled his way out of his mouth and, after a few seconds of recovery, charged at the basement door and began to knife it relentlessly.

Winry's attack on Lust, while brave, had not so much even cracked her skin. After absorbing the blows, Lust fell to the ground and watched her and the Elrics retreat downstairs. When the door shut, she rose and cracked her neck as if nothing had happened. As Envy and Gluttony attacked the door, she tilted her head to the side and launched her finger spikes at the hinges, knocking them out of place ever so slightly. Two minutes had passed, and the door was nearly annihilated, hanging on somehow by one of its hinges. Envy roared and prepared to deliver the final blow when he heard Al's voice call out, "WAIT! WAIT! NO MORE!"

Envy held back and asked, "What was that?"

"No more! We surrender!"

The shapeshifter broke into a wide, satisfied smile and sneered, "That's more like it. Come on upstairs."

The metallic clomp of Al's armor was heard as he ascended the staircase with Winry behind him. They were understandably hesitant, but complied with Envy's request. The homunculi stood before them as they reached the ground floor, pleased at the turn of events.

"I see cooler heads have prevailed," Lust said. "But you're one short."

"Ed passed out down there from exhaustion," said Winry. "It's just the two of us."

Gluttony rubbed his hands together and excitedly asked, "Can I eat them?"

"Soon enough," Lust replied as she stroked his cheek.

Winry and Al stood before their assailants as they formed a half circle between the two of them. "Now then," Envy said as he cracked his knuckles, "where were we?"

"We were getting beaten senseless by you three," Al said matter of factly.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Envy sneered as he put his hand on Al's shoulder. "I sure do hope we can pick up where we left off, 'cause we were having the time of our lives!"

Lust approached and stood next to the shapeshifter, adding, "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

"You sure?"

"One hundred percent."

All of a sudden, they heard Ed's voice deliver a rebuttal: "Good, because this ends NOW!"

The homunculi were startled and tried to figure out where his voice came from when Al clapped his hands together. Gluttony noticed right away, pointed at Al and yelled, "INSIDE!"

Before Envy and Lust could react, Al thrust his outstretched palms into their chests, unleashing a blast of alchemic energy that blew the homunculi through the wall of the house and into the countryside. Gluttony charged at them before a well-timed wrench from Winry knocked him off his feet. Before he came to, Al sat down and removed his legs, giving Ed enough wiggle room to slide out of the hole in the back of his armor.

"Thanks a million for the assist, Al!" Ed exclaimed as he watched Al reattach his legs.

"You're welcome, brother!"

As the trio assessed the damage they'd caused, Ed turned to Winry and stammered, "I...I'm sorry about your wall. I said we needed to get them out of here-" His voice trailed off as he saw her staring at Gluttony and breathing through clenched teeth, her chest heaving up and down with each breath. Her eyes were bloodshot and full of rage, and she replied to Ed's apology with one request:

_"Take it outside."_

Ed backed away from her and grabbed what remained of his right arm and reattached it to his shoulder, cringing as it latched into place. "Al, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Then let's kick their asses!"


	7. Winry vs Gluttony

As the brothers exited Winry's house through the hole in the wall, Ed glanced backwards at her and noticed that her attention hadn't shifted one bit. Her eyes were fixated on Gluttony as she picked her wrench up off the floor and grabbed another one at her workstation. After going through what she went through at the hands of the homunculus, there was no way that she was going to let Ed and Al fight him. No, she wanted him all to herself. She wanted to make him pay.

She tapped her wrenches together and wielded them in front of her, hissing, "Get up, you fat sack of crap."

Gluttony raised his head and narrowed his eyes at Winry.

"I SAID GET UP!"

The behemoth smiled and rose to his feet, licking his chops as he did so. "Well well well...girly wants to play." He moved to her left and growled, "Lust says it's not nice to play with your food..."

Winry wielded her wrenches in front of her, bracing for his attack. Gluttony pounded his fist into his palm and roared, "But it's so much _FUN!_"

He swung his fist at Winry's head, only to have her duck underneath it and hammer his foot with a wrench. He yelped in surprise and raised his foot seemingly to nurse the wound, but he stomped down with it, making contact with Winry's back. The blow knocked the wind out of her and drove her to the floor, and Gluttony raised his other foot to deliver the final blow. Winry heard his grunt of effort and rolled out of the way just as his boot hit the floor, cracking the floorboards in the process.

Winry seized her chance and clobbered Gluttony in the head with both of her wrenches in a one-two cadence. She raised her hand to strike him again and brought it down, only for the behemoth to catch it in his massive hand. He squeezed her wrist and twisted her arm, causing her to drop the wrench and let out a yelp of pain.

"Oh, that's better," Gluttony hissed. "Now, be a good girly and say uncle."

Winry didn't answer. He twisted further, the pain sending her to the floor.

"SAY UNCLE!"

The pain was blinding, but Winry got enough of her bearings to focus in on Gluttony's midsection. She clenched her fist around the remaining wrench and growled, _"Uncle."_ Before Gluttony could react, Winry swung her arm upward as hard as she could, burying the wrench in his crotch. The behemoth let out a high-pitched wail and dropped to his knees, covering his damaged goods with both hands. With her arm free, Winry grabbed her other wrench and cracked Gluttony across the face with it.

By now she was a woman possessed, nothing like the girl Ed or Al knew. Her eyes were wide open and blazing with rage, her heart hammering out of her chest, her adrenaline cascading like a waterfall. She struck Gluttony in the face with her other wrench, screaming, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

A slight trickle of blood formed at the corner of his mouth as he staggered to his feet, only to be struck down again with another wrench shot. "COME INTO MY HOUSE..."

He raised his head only to absorb another blow. "...HOLD ME HOSTAGE..."

Again, he tried to stand but was clobbered. "...TRY TO EAT ME..."

Winry delivered a quick strike to his jaw. "..._TWICE!..._"

By now, Gluttony's face was a mess of welts and blood. He could barely make out her form standing before him, and after his eyes adjusted, she shoved a wrench in his face and growled, _"Get out."_

He slowly got to his feet and staggered through the hole in the wall, Winry keeping pace with him every step of the way. Once they were outside, Gluttony asked, "Why here?"

"Because I want Ed and Al to see this!" She raised both wrenches and brought them down one by one again and again, the rate and force of her blows increasing with each strike. She gave Gluttony almost no time to react as she beat him senseless, her rage escalating by the second.

Once she was satisfied with her handiwork, she stopped and let Gluttony get to his feet. He was barely able to stand after her assault, wobbling and ready to tip at any second. Winry jumped into the air and smashed the side of his head with both wrenches at once, screaming her final rebuttal:

_"EAT __**THIS!"**_

That was all it took. The force of the final blow sent Gluttony flying through the air, landing on his back and rolling over twice before coming to a stop near where Ed and Al were fighting. Winry approached his body and stood over it, breathing heavily. Her adrenaline spent, she dropped to her knees and screamed at the sky in victory and exhaustion.

She had won.


	8. Ed & Al vs Envy & Lust

By the time Ed and Al made their way to the clearing where Envy and Lust had landed, the two homunculi were standing and dusting themselves off as if nothing had happened. Ed had tried to make the blast as powerful as he could given the circumstances, hoping that it would at least knock them out. Not only did that plan fail, but the fact that it did almost no harm to them lowered their spirits as they approached the field.

Once the brothers were within earshot, Lust said, "That was an impressive diversion, Fullmetal. You and your brother deserve credit."

"It would have been a lot more impressive if you two bastards were unconscious," Ed growled.

Envy cocked his head to the side and cracked, "That's a pretty big suit of armor you bound his soul to. A shrimp like you _would_ be able to hide in there."

Upon hearing the word "shrimp," Ed lost his mind and had to be restrained by Al as he screamed, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP SO MINISCULE THAT YOU'D NEED A MICROSCOPE TO SEE HIM CLEARLY?"

Envy just laughed and said, "See? I try to pay you a compliment and you overreact. How _does_ that girl put up with you?"

Ed pushed away from Al and grabbed Envy by the neck, snarling, "You mention Winry again and I'll tear your throat out."

"I'd love to see you try."

They stared daggers at each other for a few seconds before Ed let him go and began to walk away. He was halfway back to Al's side when Envy yelled, "I'll bet you she's halfway down Gluttony's throat right now!"

Ed stopped in his tracks and mumbled to Al, "You wanna kick his ass, or should I?"

"He's all yours, brother."

With his blessing, Ed charged Envy and brandished his automail stump like a lance, driving it into the homunculus' shoulder. Envy's smile never faded as Ed yelled, "DOESN'T FEEL TOO GOOD, DOES IT?"

The shapeshifter's response was to grab the base of the stump and pull it out with a smug grin spreading across his face. "You'll have to do better than that."

"All right." Ed grabbed the back of Envy's head and forced it down, kneeing him in the face. As he recoiled, Ed kicked him in the stomach and the side of his head, knocking him to the ground.

"That's good," Envy said as he got to his feet. "But I'm better!"

He formed his right arm into a spike and charged. Meanwhile, Al and Lust traded blows back and forth, his armor absorbing more damage as Lust's finger spikes pierced the metal. He held his own against her as he threw punches and kicks at her, some connecting, some not. As Lust continued her assault, she noticed that Al appeared to be leading her along a set path. Why he was resorting to such trickery was beyond her, but she put it our of her mind and continued to attack.

Ed had deflected Envy's initial charge and was fighting him off with a flurry of kicks. The homunculus thrust more spikes at him, one of which cut Ed's left shoulder and caused him to bleed. He just grinned and came right back, delivering a sweep kick that Envy was unable to dodge. Checking on his brother found that Al had been laid out on the ground and seemed to be tracing his fingers in the grass. Ed screamed and brought his left leg up in the air, preparing to deliver an ax kick to Envy's head. He was interrupted, however, by Winry's scream of victory. He looked over to his right and saw Gluttony's unconscious body lying on the ground, Winry kneeling over it as if she was preparing a sacrifice.

This distraction was just what Envy needed, however, as he delivered a sweep kick of his own and knocked Ed to the ground. His face was deadly serious as he drove a spike through Ed's right shoulder once again, pinning him to the soil. He twisted his wrist to accentuate the pain, and Ed screamed accordingly while whipping his head around looking for Al. A reflection of sunlight immediately above his head signified that Al had completed the circle. His left hand grabbed at Envy's spike and attempted to pull it out only for the homunculus to drive it further into the ground, and further into Ed's shoulder.

"There's no way you're getting away now!" Envy screamed. A loud crash was heard as Lust severed Al's legs, sending his torso to the ground. Smiling, Lust went over to Gluttony's side and picked him up. Winry attempted to fight her off, but Lust simply backhanded her to the ground and dragged the behemoth's unconscious body next to Envy.

"It looks like we win after all, Fullmetal," she said.

Envy laughed maniacally as he twisted the spike again. "You should have known we would, boy! And since I'm feeling so generous, I'll let you write your own epitaph."

Ed glanced around at the scene before him. Al and Winry lay on the ground, both of them out of range. The three homunculi were right in front of him, right where they needed to be. _Please, please let this work._

Envy pulled the spike out of Ed's shoulder and pressed it against his neck. "Any last words?"

Ed just smiled and slapped his palm into the dirt. All of a sudden, an unearthly glow erupted from the ground and enveloped the area that the brothers had fought in. Throughout his fight with Lust, Al had indeed been leading her on a set path...a path that wound up creating a makeshift transmutation circle with a combination of flattened grass and writing in the dirt. If it was Envy Al had been fighting, he would have noticed right away, but Ed kept him distracted throughout their entire fight. The homunculi stood shocked at this turn of events as Ed rose to his feet and replied, "Sucker."

Envy roared in anger and attempted to impale Ed once again, but Ed leapt into the air and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into Lust. A loud boom shook the countryside as a deep black hole formed in the ground where the circle had been, gravity taking over as the homunculi fell into the maw, grabbing for something to hold onto. But there was nothing in sight, nothing that could be seen in this blackness they were falling into. Ed, Winry and Al stood at the apex of the circle and watched them fall until pieces of earth shot to the surface and reformed the pattern of grass and flowers that was there before as if nothing had happened.

After a few seconds of silence, Al asked, "Brother...what happened to them?"

Ed grabbed his shoulder and replied, "I sent them someplace far away from here. Someplace cold." He started to walk towards the house when he lost his footing and began to fall, fainting after taking just two steps.

"BROTHER!"

Winry ran to his side and caught him just before he hit the ground, placing his head in her lap. "He's fine, Al. He's just getting some rest."

Al laid on his back and pumped his fists in the air, exalting in their hard-earned victory. The nightmare was over.


	9. Post Battle Update

Ed woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned in pain and rubbed his forehead as he sat up, his eyes adjusting to his surroundings. Once he was fully aware, he found that he was in a military hospital with his head bandaged, the wounds in his side and his left shoulder stitched up, and his right arm fixed and reattached. The hole in his right shoulder had been repaired and reworked as well. As he stared at his right arm, his body began to tremble and he put his face in his hands, sobbing with relief. All of a sudden, he heard a knock at the door and looked up to see Winry, Al and Colonel Mustang enter the room.

"Brother!" Al exclaimed. "You're awake!" He and Winry ran to Ed's side and gave him a group hug as Mustang took a seat at Ed's bedside, smiling at the sight. Ed returned the favor but groaned in pain at the same time. As he put his hand around Al's back, he said, "Al...you're all fixed. How did that happen?"

"I can explain that, Fullmetal," Mustang said as he took a sip of coffee. "After I received Winry's phone call, I headed out to Resembool as fast as I could. I arrived just after you fainted and carried Al into the house."

"What about his legs?"

"I came back out for them after I got him inside. When I brought them in, Winry was already working on your automail. You were unconscious for about two hours before you woke up."

"Wait a minute," Ed exclaimed as he sat up. "I remember fainting, but I don't remember waking up in the house at all."

"You weren't all there," Winry said. "You woke up all right, but you were a zombie. It was like you were doped up on morphine."

"Basically, you transmutated me back to normal and went back to sleep," Al added. "It was kind of funny, in a weird sort of way."

"I'm sure it was," Ed grumbled. "Did Pinako and Den get back yet?"

"Yeah," Mustang responded. "She was ready to kill you two until Winry and I explained what happened. She was horrified, obviously, but she was thankful that you guys had managed to fight them off. I commissioned some carpenters to fix up the house as soon as we arrived here."

"We're all staying at a hotel here in Central until repairs are done," Winry said.

Ed smiled and ran his metal hand through his hair. "That's good to know. Thanks for doing that, sir."

"No problem."

A few seconds of silence passed before Ed asked the question weighing on everyone's minds: "Colonel...what about the homunculi?"

"What about them?"

"What if they come back? They know where Winry lives, and they could come back at any-"

Mustang raised his hand, cutting him off. "It's taken care of. One of the first things I did when I arrived was construct a protective barrier around the Rockbell property. Anything that bears the insignia of the homunculi is forbidden from entering."

"What about humans?" Al asked.

"You and everyone else who travels through there will still be able to come and go as you please. You won't even notice anything's there."

Ed flopped down on his bed and sighed with relief, mumbling "Hallelujah" to himself.

The colonel pulled out his pocketwatch and glanced at the time, saying, "I hate to cut my visit short, Fullmetal, but I have to get back to headquarters. Any idea when you two will be back to normal?"

Ed said, "I don't know, sir. Maybe three weeks to a month from now. Those wounds I sustained were pretty serious."

Mustang paused. He had gotten a good look at Ed when Winry brought him inside, and the wounds in his side and both his shoulders were indeed pretty serious as far as he could tell. "Okay then. One month it is."

"WHAT?" the trio exclaimed.

"When you take into account how badly hurt you were-not to mention the psychological scars-it's gonna take a long time to recover from that. One month is all I can spare for now, but you two should be physically ready to go by then. If you want, I can arrange for you to talk to a psychiatrist about what happened."

"I don't think so," Ed curtly replied.

"Just thought I'd throw it out there. Oh, before I forget..." Mustang reached into his pocket and handed Ed his state watch and the photograph.

"Get well soon, you guys."


	10. Reassurance

Ed blankly stared at the items as Mustang exited the room. He placed the watch on the endtable and directed his attention to the photograph, studying it as if it were a novel written in a foreign language.

"Looks like you got your month off, brother," Al said.

Ed could only choke out a weak "...Yeah." as he flipped the photograph over to see Winry's address. He had written it down both to remember it and to have it handy for when he needed to send stuff to her, either souvenirs or things that needed to get fixed. But now, thanks to it falling out of his pocket...

"He was right."

"What?" Winry asked. "Who was right?"

"Envy. This is all my fault. This whole thing happened because of me."

"Brother..." Al started as he sat down beside him, Winry joining him on the opposite end. "Why on Earth would you say that?"

"I saved this before we burned our house down to remind us of what we'd lost and to remember happier times. I...I wrote her address down in case either of us forgot, just to be safe. God..." Ed put a hand to his face and let out a hitched sigh. "I never in a million years thought something this special to me could be used for something..." He could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes and blinked them away, trying to maintain his composure. "...like this."

He turned to Winry and said, "I wish I could take all of it back. You were angry with me for breaking this..." He held up his automail arm and continued. "...but I can't imagine how angry you are with me now."

Winry caressed his face and said, "Edward, you have no idea how grateful I am for the two of you being there. If you hadn't shown up when you did, there's no question I would be dead right now. You did everything in your power to protect me and to get me out of harm's way." She smiled at him and concluded, "You think I'm angry with you because of a photograph? Think again. It is _not_ your fault."

He hadn't expected this reaction from her at all. Maybe a smack upside the head or a "Be careful next time," but not this. Ed tried to hold the tears back, contorting his face into a squint of suppressed grief, praying that he wouldn't break down in front of them.

Al placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "Brother...it's okay."

His brother's gentle reassurance was all it took. Ed exploded in a painful outburst of deep, wrenching sobs that left him gasping for air. They were less sobs than soul-shattering wails that came from the pit of his stomach. Winry took him in her arms almost immediately, crying alongside him as he let everything out at once.

"I'M SORRY!" Ed screamed, burying his face in her shoulder. "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Winry!"

She stroked his hair and whispered through her tears, "It's okay, Ed. It's okay. It's okay."

Al put his hands on Ed's shoulders, reassuring him, "We're here, brother. It's alright."

Ed continued sobbing as they tried their best to console him. At this point, all they could do was all they could do.

* * *

It had taken forty-five minutes for Ed to cry himself out. Once he was done, he laid down on his hospital bed and drove his fists into the mattress. Winry laid down next to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, trying to calm him down.

"Oh God..." Ed exclaimed. "Oh God, I needed that."

"I think we all needed that, Ed," she whispered as she snuggled closer to him.

"Winry," he whined as he let out a nervous laugh, "what do you think you're doing?"

She smiled and replied, "Trying to get you to laugh."

"Well, you pulled it off. Congratulations."

The two of them glanced over at Al, his body leaning back against the wall. "Looks like Al fell asleep," Ed said.

"After everything we've been through today, can you blame him?"

"Nope."

Ed turned over and picked up the photograph again, folding it in half. "Ed, what are you doing with that?"

"Hanging onto it," he answered as he put it on the endtable next to his watch. "I don't want to lose sight of what Al and I are fighting for."

"To get your bodies back?"

"That..." He put his automail hand to Winry's. "...and other things."

Winry smiled and kissed the back of his neck. Ed blushed at the sensation and closed his eyes, snoring within seconds. Upon hearing the sound of Ed's slumber, Winry inched in closer and rested her head next to his. However, there was one last thing she wanted to say. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, "Welcome home, Edward."

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, unaware that Ed had heard her. A contented smile spread across his face as he whispered his reply:

"It's good to be back."

-END-


End file.
